He started his career as a writer publishing A Young Man's Life (젊은이의 시절).

His famous works include The Water Wheel (물레방아), Mulberry (뽕), and Deaf Samryongi (벙어리 삼룡이).

[1] His early works are sorrowful, romantic pieces: A Young Man's Life, Delight (환희).

However his works changed from romanticism to realism: Haengnang Jasik <행랑 자식> and Before She Found Herself (자기를 찾기 전), in which he describes a man who overcomes difficulties by the strength of his will.

[2] His works depict Korean farm villages and people, and life during the 1920s.